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Cross-site scripting (XSS)

Learn about Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability

XSS - What Is Cross-Site Scripting?

Cross-Site Scripting (also known as XSS) is one of the most common application-layer web attacks. XSS vulnerabilities target scripts embedded in a page that are executed on the client-side (in the user’s web browser) rather than on the server-side. XSS in itself is a threat that is brought about by the internet security weaknesses of client-side scripting languages, such as HTML and JavaScript. The concept of XSS is to manipulate client-side scripts of a web application to execute in the manner desired by the malicious user. Such a manipulation can embed a script in a page that can be executed every time the page is loaded, or whenever an associated event is performed.

XSS is the most common security vulnerability in software today. This should not be the case as XSS is easy to find and easy to fix. XSS vulnerabilities can have consequences such as tampering and sensitive data theft.

Key Concepts of XSS

XSS is a web-based attack performed on vulnerable web applications.

In XSS attacks, the victim is the user and not the application.

In XSS attacks, malicious content is delivered to users using JavaScript.

Explaining Cross-Site Scripting

An XSS vulnerability arises when web applications take data from users and dynamically include it in web pages without first properly validating the data. XSS vulnerabilities allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands and display arbitrary content in a victim user's browser. A successful XSS attack leads to an attacker controlling the victim’s browser or account on the vulnerable web application. Although XSS is enabled by vulnerable pages in a web application, the victims of an XSS attack are the application's users, not the application itself. The potency of an XSS vulnerability lies in the fact that the malicious code executes in the context of the victim's session, allowing the attacker to bypass normal security restrictions.